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St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum archeologist Chuck Meide got word of the wreckage and brought a team of researchers to learn more. He said it's most likely a merchant ship, but could've come from anywhere.

"It's hard to know where it's from," Meide said. "One thing I can tell is that it would've been a pretty sizable ship."

Marc Anthony owns a treasure shop in St. Augustine, and said he couldn't believe what washed ashore.

"I was just blown away," Anthony said. "We are going to need to preserve this and get this into a museum if possible. I would hate to see history like this be taken away by the ocean again."

A deputy stood guard throughout the day to make sure the wreckage remained untouched. The wreckage can't be moved because it's property that belongs to the state of Florida, so researchers were documenting the hull before it is reclaimed by the sea. They are hoping to create a 3-D model from photos of the ship.